Britain is set to swelter through another day of blistering heat after forecasters warned temperatures could climb as high as 33C again, following a record-breaking spell that has already claimed six lives. The Met Office confirmed Tuesday became the hottest May day ever recorded in both England and Wales, with temperatures soaring to a provisional 35.1C at Kew Gardens in south-west London and 32.9C at Cardiff's Bute Park.
Fatal Incidents in Open Water
The unprecedented spring heat has sent thousands flocking to beaches, lakes and rivers across the country, but emergency services have been stretched by a string of fatal incidents involving children and teenagers getting into difficulty in open water. Among the victims was 15-year-old Declan Sawyer, who died after entering the water at Swanholme Lakes in Lincoln on Sunday. In West Yorkshire, a 13-year-old boy died after getting into trouble at Leadbeater Dam near Halifax on Monday afternoon. Police said he was pulled from the water and rushed to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
A teenage girl's body was also recovered from Kingsbury Water Park in Warwickshire, while another teenager was found dead in the water at Rother Valley Country Park in South Yorkshire in the early hours of Tuesday morning. On Tuesday evening, Lancashire Police confirmed a body had been recovered from the River Ribble after a 12-year-old boy disappeared while swimming with friends at Ribchester. The tragedy continued in Cornwall when a man in his 60s suffered a cardiac arrest after entering the sea at Tregirls Beach near Padstow in a desperate attempt to rescue two relatives who had got into difficulty in the water. The family members were brought safely ashore by members of the public, but the man died at the scene.
Ireland Also Affected
Ireland has also been gripped by the same early-summer heat, with a teenage girl dying after getting into difficulty in the sea at Burrow Beach near Howth on Sunday. Met Eireann said Ireland provisionally recorded its hottest ever May temperature on Tuesday at 30.5C.
Safety Warnings Issued
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution warned swimmers not to be lulled into a false sense of security by the soaring temperatures, stressing that water temperatures remain dangerously cold despite the sunshine. The RNLI said there was a 'very real risk' linked to swimming in open water during the heatwave and warned of cold water shock. The National Fire Chiefs Council has also issued an urgent safety warning, urging parents to speak to children about the dangers of swimming unsupervised in lakes, reservoirs, canals and rivers.
Forecast and Disruption
Despite slightly cooler conditions expected in some regions on Wednesday, forecasters say south-west England could still see highs of 32C to 33C. Temperatures are then expected to remain stubbornly high through the week, with London and the East Midlands forecast to hit 32C on Thursday before easing slightly by the weekend. The extreme weather has already caused widespread disruption on Britain's railways, with Network Rail forced to impose speed restrictions amid fears tracks could buckle in the heat.
Tropical Night Recorded
Britain also endured what meteorologists described as a 'tropical night' on Monday, after temperatures failed to drop below 20C in parts of the country. Kenley Airfield in south London recorded an overnight low of 21.3C - the warmest May minimum temperature ever recorded in the UK. Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said the conditions were unlike anything normally seen in spring. 'It really is an exceptionally warm or very hot spell at the moment. For any time of the year it's hot, but for May in particular – it is still meteorological spring. In terms of how ground-breaking, how historic it is – it's very similar to that first time that we reached 40C. The fact that we've exceeded the May temperature by such an amount really is extraordinary and quite worrying.'
Health Alerts and Climate Change
Amber heat-health alerts issued by the UK Health Security Agency remain in force across large parts of England until Thursday evening, including London, the South East, South West and Midlands. Scientists have also warned the extraordinary temperatures bear the fingerprints of climate change. A recent climate attribution study by the Met Office found the chances of exceeding the UK's previous May heat record are now around three times more likely because of human-driven climate change.
Beach Litter Chaos
The beautiful weather has also caused chaos down at the beaches as rubbish bins have been spotted overflowing with trash. At Margate, Bournemouth beach and Brighton beach, hundreds of plastic cups and bottles, beer cans, takeaway boxes, broken camping chairs, inflatable toys, and discarded barbecues were strewn across the sand. At Bournemouth beach there are around 300 bins along the seafront, but nearly all of them were overflowing with garbage on Tuesday, as well as piles of bin bags on the pavement next to them.
